Hip-Hop News

If ever there was a time for the Return of the Funki Dred it’s now.

As the world slowly emerges from a pandemic of chaos into the forward facing challenge of Black Lives Matter, could there be a more reassuring soundtrack than Back To Life or Keep On Movin’? However, in keeping with these unique times those tunes will be as never heard before.

Soul II Soul’s Funki Dred Records is back after nearly thirty years in hiatus, still bridging the gap between street and sophistication with a schedule of totally 21st Century takes on club classics, and passing the Dred Head banner on to a selection of new young stars.

“This is something we’ve had under consideration for a while,” Soul II Soul front man Jazzie B explains. “But first we had to make sure the remixes of the Soul II Soul hits were not only musically perfect within the genres we had reimagined them, but that we were adding something to each original. Although we want to bring the Soul II Soul nation with us on this latest stage of our journey, we’re very conscious how much those tunes mean to so many people so we had to treat them with extra respect.

“We’ve always looked at and looked at developing new artists – that’s why Funki Dred Records was first set up back in the 1990s, and we figured we’d hit a point at which we’d connected with enough fresh talent to go forward. As for the timing, if we can contribute to wave of feeling sweeping the globe with our positive message we are proud to do so: A happy face, a thumpin’ bass, for a loving race.”

Funki Dred will be releasing music on 12” black vinyl, and collectible coloured vinyl. First on the reactivated catalogue will be an Afrobeat 'Zepherin Saint’ remix of Back To Life featuring the legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen. The 12” features the full ten minute plus Zepherin Saint Mix re-working, alongside a punchy ‘Zepherin Saint Radio Edit’ and a ‘Zepherin Saint Club Edit’, and to complete the package comes a different take on this classic track in the form of the 'Tribe Vocal Mix’.

The 12” will come on Limited Clear Green Vinyl (Limited to 500 copies), alongside a DJ friendly Black Vinyl version, and will form part 1 of a series of reworked and remixed 12” vinyl of classic Soul II Soul tracks.

Coming off the success of their debut LP, The Bombillas hit the studio once again to further their instrumental eclectic sound.

Taking inspiration from Middle Eastern and African funk while refining their own artistic style, The Bombillas create a sonic palate the is distinctively unique. Side A features the psychedelic groove filled cut “Nac Nac” which reminisces something out of the early 70’s with phasers, delays, vintage synths, and a driving repetitive bass guitar. “Senebi” on the flip, dives into a more hypnotic state with a range of dynamic colors centered around a forward moving rhythm and contrasting melodic sections. Think cinematic soul with a cosmic Arabic twist. Both tracks feature Tyler Nuffer on lap steel and guitar, David Celia on keys and talking drum, Josh Wiener on bass, and Michael Duffy on drums and shakere. A must have 45 for collectors and DJ’s wanting to add a little more eclectic sounds to their set’s while still keeping a strong groove and vibe going. -Recorded to 1/2” tape -First single since debut LP in 2020 -Limited to 500 copies worldwide -For fans of North African Funk, Turkish Rock, Ethiopian Jazz, and Cinematic Soul.

One can only watch in disbelief, this unstoppable creative cosmic explosion happening recently for the prolific Japanese producer, Yasushi Ide at the moment! Savoring the inclusion of his version of Bill Wither’s, Ain’t No Sunshine in the awe-inspiring Don Letts’ curated reggae covers compilation, Version Excursion just released out of Late Night Tales and still in cruise control through the galaxy but in full steam ahead mode, his Cosmic Suite Ensemble releases their first live album, Space Jam on vinyl and CD!

Earlier in the year in May 20th, in the midst of another wave of Covid infections occurring in Japan, also after several postponements as well, against all odds, Yasushi finally assembled this 11 piece Cosmic Suite Ensemble and held a truly astonishing and inspiring concert at Kanda Square Hall, Tokyo. His crack team of Japan’s top notch musicians, a star-studded bunch individually renowned as either a solo artist or active as a member of an established group, comes together with Yasushi Ide at the helm and performs in its entirety his magnum opus, Cosmic Suite. This piece released last year, notably received the following accolade from The Vinyl Factory, in their news column piece, “New albums to look out for in June 2021” which stated, “A 35-minute jam cut into two performances, Yasushi Ide’s Cosmic Suite incorporates house, techno, jazz, reggae and dub into its sonic melange.”

Masterfully orchestrated by Yasushi himself, his group manages to pull off the unimaginable and performs Cosmic Suite totally live! What a depth defying feat! A total free for all, improv and chaos amalgamation, fueling a magical musical odyssey through many corners and dimensions of the universe!

This album also includes, an incredibly dope cover of a very obscure, only performed live but never recorded, Yann Tomita piece called Patrol Of The Saturn. The enigmatic Yann Tomita might still be Japan’s best kept secret but he is also a mentor of Yasushi and for this cover, he truly pays respect to his master’s original piece but he also adds to it, some very heavy twin drum breaks played by the two drummers, Yukari Uehara and Kyoichi Shiino, layered with some dope steel pan madness by Genichi Tamura, then this piece picks up steam with a bit of nifty improvisational playing by the trumpet of Wataru Oyama, Kazuma Fujimoto (g) and Haruhisa Horie (Rhodes), and the whole band propels us into a dope sonic world of a mesmerizing dub attitude and slo-mo cosmic jazz funk vibes. Get set to orbit Saturn with this spaced out, funk-a-delic dub frenzy!

The Edwards Generation's 'I Like Your Style' has been re-imagined with style by three of our favourite remixers in Al Kent, Ourra and Mark Producer. The A Side features an epic disco journey from the magic hands of Al Kent, with 12 minutes and 22 seconds of a blissful groove that's interjected with love from the original stems. On the B Side Ourra conjures up some 80s themed magic that reminds us of the classic Prelude sounds. Chicago's maestro Mark Grusane is more respectful to the original song whilst stretching the groove for maximum effect. One for the connoisseurs.

This new series on Expansion explores classic and exceptional 70s and 80s 'modern soul room' tracks making them available on 7' single for the very first time.

The Moments were a prolific sweet soul group in the 70s, signed up by Stang Records and regularly in the charts. They comprised vocalists who would later become Ray, Goodman & Brown. As The Moments their first US R&B No.1 was Love On A Two-Way Street' in 1970 and in the UK were best known for Nine Times', Dolly My Love' and Girls'. When they changed labels, a handful of songs were left unissued including the incredible Sleep Won't Come', first released as a CD bonus tracks on a 2CD Moments anthology Moments To Remember'. Interest in the songs has become high since that time resulting in an inevitable debut release on vinyl here on Expansion.

The B side is one of the group's most underrated gems.

Made in two versions - classic black and limited multicolor vinyl. Limitied Surprise Edition was pressed in 200 copies and has got an OBI.

After a six year hiatus Twardowski returns with his fourth album on U Know Me Records. The newest outing is a retrofuturistic trip to the author's two biggest influences: instrumental hip-hop and… video games. The new album eschews Twardowski's previous synth-heavy style in favor of multiple layers of chopped and mended together samples, topped off by cuts from U Know Me's own jazz guitarist/turntablist Żyńy. The album invokes video games with the track titles, the LP's title being a homage to coin-ops and via the overall sound: wonky, heavily shuffled, almost-out-of-sync rhythms sounding almost as if the tracks were done sampler in one hand gamepad in the other, over a lengthy, laid back gaming/sequencing session. Maybe if a gamepad was a sampler and instrumental hip-hop was a game, "One Coin Clear" could have been its soundtrack.

Uni Son is the new ‘nom de plume’ of Jonathan Pardon aka Just Nathan, a long-time friend of the label and connoisseur of all things classy. So when he sent his album to WPH label boss Red D for an honest opinion and some pointers as to which label would like to release this the die was very easily cast. So for the third artist album on We Play House Recordings we present you ‘Moments In Unity’.

Inspired by those 4AM dancefloor moments where all are one and the whole history of club music ‘Moments In Unity’ is a stunning debut on all accounts. Uni Son has his very own sound that takes in original deep house, Balearic, acid, ambient and a lot more and delivers an instant classic from start to finish that will appeal to a wide variety of ears and tastes. Time to unite, both on and off the dancefloor.

Sleepers Poets Scientists is an Umbrella for female composers and music producers. Vol. 2 compiles 8 Georgian composers: Anushka Chkheidze, Natalie Beridze, sTia, Tamo Nasidze, Tamta Gqarliani, ELY ANN, Nasi Chavchavadze and Nina Simonishvili, all of whom are CES graduates of Music Production course led by Natalie Beridze, one of the most successful Georgian producers on the scene of Georgian electronic music.

The retro cover is a nod to the famous group shot from the 1927 Solvay conference, which brought together physicists like Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Marie Curie, and others. With this in mind, the name Sleepers, Poets, Scientists rings like a call to action for today's brightest minds, to wake up and save our chaotic, troubled world.

Begging the Moon is a collection focused upon an early-to-mid 20th century style of Thai popular song, commonly named Phleng Thai sakon (meaning "song which is both Thai and universal"). With recordings taken from the end of WWII until the start of the 1960s, many of these tracks may also be referred to as Luk krung (meaning "child of the city") a more urbanised style of popular song that is in contrast to the Thai country music known as Luk thung ("child of the field").

Following the Thai cultural revolution of the 1930s and the following reign of west-leaning premier Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Thai culture began to adopt more and more western influences - with Thai traditional and classical music starting to incorporate western notation and particularly Jazz-orientated themes. Thai folk melodies were also adapted to create "ramwong" - a merging of popular western dance music styles such as the tango or rumba, spear-headed at the time by the pioneering Suntaraporn band.

In the years following the end of WWII, the Phleng Thai sakon began to gradually develop sub-genres such as phleng talad (market songs) or phleng chiwit (life songs) focused on rural topics, and sung with rural accents. A little while later this would lead to a formal demarcation in the music - with the polished and western ballad-orientated music known as Luk krung, and the more traditional/country style now dubbed Luk thung. The gap between the two would then widen, both musically and culturally, right up to the present day.

The recordings compiled here can broadly be categorised as being in the former Luk krung style, though some tracks may touch on rural subjects and motifs. However that is not to say they are overpowered by western musical influence - many of these tracks display potent aspects of traditional Thai music within their beguiling and romantic arrangements.

Thanks to Peter Doolan/Monrakplengthai.

The DIY ethic reshaped in the 21st century via Bandcamp, but the fact it's somewhat lawless, means not much of it is flawless.


Not so with these uncommonly good reboots of contemporary R&B joints which were previously the secret preserve of a handful of the keenest digital diggers.

ALMACKS provides community in secret spaces.
The sublime liminal.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- PVC PROTECTIVE SLEEVE
- INCLUDES INSERT WITH CREDITS
- SOUNDTRACK OF THE 1998 FILM CONSISTING
ENTIRELY OF HIP HOP MUSIC
- FIRST PRESSING OF 500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED
COPIES ON RED VINYL

Slam is the dark and intriguing movie of a young MC Ray Joshua, who lives in a neighborhood which is dominated by gang wars and drugs. One day he is arrested when his drug dealer is shot in front of him and he is put in prison. While in in prison he uses his skills to stop violence and meets Lauren Bell who encourages him to better his situation and get out of his cycle.

Slam won several prizes, Winner Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and Winner Best Film 1998 Cannes Film Festival (Director's Fortnight). The Original Soundtrack reached to #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and got into the Billboard 200 Album charts.

Washington born electronic and experimental hip hop musician DJ Spooky was the music producer for the soundtrack. Slam: The Soundtrack features all original tracks by Mobb Deep ( Feel my Gat Flow'), Ol' Dirty Bastard, Big Baby Jesus & Coolio ( The Park'), Brand Nubian ( Time is Running Out') and many more hip hop artists.

Chicago-meets-Philly when Vic Spencer and Small Professor connect on Mudslide, the incredible new album from this pairing of raw talents. Coalmine Records is proud to share this project with the world, and it marks Small Pro’s third collaborative release on the label after he previously linked with Guilty Simpson and the late Sean Price. For the producer, it was an exciting new opportunity to team up with an emcee who’s gruff-voiced, hilarious, and can out-rap anyone on the planet. “Plus, my past Coalmine projects have their own neo/prog-boom-bap vibe, and ‘Mudslide’ continues that particular sonic blueprint,” Small Pro said. And for fans of that sound, you’re not going to find a better example of that sound than this album. It’s just as experimental as it is steeped in the traditions of rap thanks to Vic’s boundary-pushing rhymes and Small Pro’s immensely satisfying instrumentals. Tracks like “Lil Jon’s Weed Stash,” “Ew McNasty’s Revenge,” and “Selfcare Welfare” marry psychedelic vibes with grounded and clever lyricism. Another immediate standout is the lead focus track “Pitfall Music,” which features a mean-mugging guest verse from Flee Lord with cuts supplied by acclaimed turntablist, DJ Revolution.

This is part of an ongoing 45 series that also features Westside Gunn, Raekwon, Blu, Conway The Machine, DJ Babu, Curren$y, and others. This 7" single will set the table for Rude One's official follow-up, Upper Space, which will release physically and digitally on October 11th. The album contains a new single with Roc Marciano as well as songs with Valee, RXK Nephew, Pink Siifu, Stove God Cooks, The Twilite Tone, and more. DJ Rude One's ONEderful LP was released in 2016 and earned praise from Pitchfork (6.9), HipHopDX, XXL, Noisey, Fakeshoredrive, and others. It featured Conway, Your Old Droog, Westside Gunn, and Roc Marciano, all of whom are at the top of the Underground Hip Hop food chain. "His rasping voice is suited for Rude One’s gritty sound. Almost everything here is sonically consistent, with rapper and producer perfectly in sync." - Pitchfork. Full color jacket 7". Roc Marciano is hailed as a leader in Hip Hop's current underground renaissance. The smooth rapper and producer has his fingerprints all over the scene, and regularly receives praise from critics and his established peers. In 2016, Roc lent his services to DJ Rude One's ahead of its time LP, ONEderful. Together, the two crafted stand out cuts such as "Triple Black Benz" and "Murder Paragraphs", the latter of which is the latest installment of Closed Sessions limited 7" series. "Murder Paragraphs" is Roc Marciano at his finest and showcases DJ Rude One's signature less-is-more, grimy sound. This 7" contains the original and instrumental version, new artwork by Spectacular Diagnostics, and follows previous entries from Raekwon, Blu, WestSide Gunn, Conway, Open Mike Eagle, and more. This pressing is limited to 500 copies, and will also set the table for DJ Rude One's forthcoming LP, Upper Space, which will feature Stove God Cooks, Valee, RXK Nephew, and of course a new collaboration with Roc Marciano.

Reissue of the Historic Album originally Released in 1979

Cosmic Shuffling took us on its journey last year with its magnificent vocal album COSMIC QUEST. Now the Swiss septet extraordinaire returns with the sequel of its latest album: the instrumental side of the Quest. These two brand new 7” singles present four instrumentals taken from an upcoming full instrumental album due out September 2024. If you wish that Tommy McCook, Bobby Ellis, Roland Alphonso or Don Drummond had written more melancholic instrumentals, these tunes are for you! Burning hot scorchers!


Led by a gorgeous horns and flute top line, ‘Poor M. Collins’ grooves with a rhythmic finesse that will have you swaying to its infectious beat, while ‘Memories of Plans-Bochet’ takes you on a nostalgic ride, leaving an indelible mark on your soul.

Sputnik is an explosive ska tune reminiscent of the greatest days of Jamaican furious dance music. Trombone and tenor saxophone solos stir your ears while the six piece horns section will blow your away. On the B side, in a completely different style, the organ drives an early and heavy reggae beat while horns section takes you on a soaring journey. Thrills guaranteed!

Die dreifach Grammy-nominierte Band, Hiatus Kaiyote, veröffentlicht ihr kommendes Album, „Love Heart Cheat Code“ am 28. Juni 2024 auf Brainfeeder.

„Love Heart Cheat Code“ ist eine Momentaufnahme von vier Musiker:innen, die gemeinsam am Rande des Abgrunds tanzen, mit elf verspielten, überschwänglichen Tracks, die Licht ausstrahlen. Doch für eine Band, die sich mit ihrer Komplexität einen Namen gemacht hat und für ihren Maximalismus von der Kritik gelobt und mehrfach für den Grammy nominiert wurde, ist eines der auffälligsten Dinge an „Love Heart Cheat Code“ seine Einfachheit. Die Richtung, in die sich die Band auf dem kommenden Album bewegt, wird nicht immer auf direktem Wege erreicht, sondern eher durch Nachdenken und Abdriften: in Jam-Sessions, die bis spät in die Nacht und früh am Morgen dauern, bei gemeinsamen Mahlzeiten, beim Herumspielen mit dem Equipment und miteinander. Auf dem Album sind auch andere Musiker:innen aus Melbourne zu hören, wie Taylor „Chip“ Crawford, der ein von ihm selbst erfundenes Instrument namens Frello spielt, der Gitarrist Tom Martin und der Flötist Nikodemos, sowie ein weiterer, noch nie dagewesener kreativer Kopf: Mario Caldato, dessen Arbeit mit den Beastie Boys und Seu Jorge Stoff für Legenden ist.

Repress.

They say you should never meet your heroes, but for Mike, meeting the legendary Adrian Sherwood has been a transformative experience, leading to creative collaborations that have benefited both of them.

Nearly 30 years after first being mesmerized by OnU Sound’s releases, a cheeky bit of radio ripping serendipitously led to Mike helping Pats Dokter, the label’s official archivist, with his work restoring master tapes, and eventually to him creating visual content for Adrian’s live shows.

A while after this collaboration began, Adrian offered to remix some of Mike’s music, either by his solo project @misledconvoy or our tunes, and it’s four cuts by us that grace this heavyweight platter.

From the dreamy dub of Transient Transmission to the rolling rhythms of A Doubtful Sound, our originals have been re-arranged and dubbed to $%># in Adrian’s signature style, with fluid melodies, pounding basslines and vocal samples awash in a wall of effects.

Trumpets by David “Ital Horns” Fullwood bookend the release, haunting in the first track and celebratory in the last, while Doug Wimbish (Tackhead) added an extra bassline to the heaving version of 1000 Mile Drift, which also features the voice of the iconic Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Mike says, “the whole experience has been slightly unreal, from working on Adrian’s videos to being in the OnU studio and watching him dub-mixing the tracks I’ve made, something I could never have imagined happening!”

Mike isn’t the only OnU fan, as a pivotal moment for Paddy was “watching Adrian mixing Tack>head at the Powerstation in 1995 and seeing the cause-and-effect of what he was doing and hearing the unbelievable sounds coming out of the speakers. It was the first time I’d ever seen somebody dub mix like that.”

The cover of Echoes of the Night is based upon an original artwork by Hamish Macaulay, while the vinyl has been pressed using a 100% recycled compound known as eco-mix, making each record totally unique as the colours subtly change across the pressing run.

Bringing together over 50 of Jamaica's greatest session musicians, whose work spans from the birth of reggae in the late 1960s until today, Roots Architects is the largest gathering of Jamaican musical talent on one all-instrumental album. Never before have so many veterans, who helped create the immortal rhythms that made reggae internationally successful, been assembled to play on new material without vocals. This project aims to celebrate and pay tribute to the unsung heroes of reggae music: the rhythm builders or Roots Architects.

Before releasing the full album, due out April 2024, this new single gives you a taste of what's coming your way. Legends back together in Kingston studios doing what they do best: creating instrumental music all together! 'Memories of Old' pays tribute to the rocksteady era. You'll be delighted by Ernest Ranglin's guitar solo and Tyrone Downie's organ solo.

2024 Repress on 140g Vinyl with updated Sleeve

The first in a series of mini compilations exploring instrumental Dub versions of sought after and long out of print titles from the world of Reggae, Disco, Boogie and House. Many of these versions still contain vocals, snippets here and there drenched in delay or reverb, a style you’ll recognise from many of the Jura Soundsystem edits on the label. The late Glen Adams & Finesse open proceedings with their Island Disco cover of Marvin Gaye’s classic, followed on the A2 by a super rare UK Boogie/Brit Funk mix of Tippa Irie’s ‘Panic Panic’ (shouts to Tippa for personally helping to push through the license) and the A side closes with the 80’s leaning ‘Yes I Do’ from Belgium’s Special Occasion. The first half of the B side comes from Carol Williams with the Special Club Dub mix of ‘Can’t Get Away’, originally a one sided promo only 10” from 1983 complete with spoken word intro from Carol thanking New York’s Metro DJs for their support of the song. The LP closes with a Jura Soundsystem Dubby Edit of La Palace De Beaute’s ‘Sin’ pulling back on the vocal and going heavy on the delay.

Das Debütalbum der Youthsayers, einem Südlondoner Community-Projekt, gegründet von zwei Mitgliedern der legendären Afro-Reggae-Band Soothsayers. Zu den aktuellen YS-Mitgliedern gehört u.a. auch der von Brownswood gesignte Oreglo. Die LP enthält acht einzigartige Interpretatione klassischer und neuer Dub- und Afro-Jazz-Tracks, darunter Coverversionen von Theon Cross, Fela Kuti, Cedric IM Brooks, The Fontanelles und Soothsayers.

COTONETE is back!

After releasing numerous and now collectable standalone singles, plus some now famous collaborations with Dimitri from Paris, 2019 saw Parisian based 8 piece, Cotonete release their first long player in 15 years! Under the guidance of Melik Bencheikh from Paris’ rare record emporium, Heart Beat Vinyl. The dark moody mover "Super-Vilains" came out to great success on Heavenly Sweetness.

After playing some packed live shows around France and the UK, including the acclaimed Sunday at Dingwalls in Camden, hosted by Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge. Somewhere along this part of the journey, they came across the Brazilian music legend and vocal powerhouse, Di Melo. He softened their souls, and from this love affair came the album "Atemporal". Released on Favourite Recordings, this 8 track album would end up being sampled by Canadian superstar Drake, for his 2023 album ‘For All the Dogs Scary Hours
Edition’.

So now into 2024, and we have Cotonete full length number two. They’ve enlisted the producer Guts to guide them towards sunshine, groove, warmth and all the colours in his rainbow. With their tongues firmly in their cheeks, the album is titled ‘Victoire de la Musique’ - a dig at the annual French music award ceremony. Taking the band deep, producer Guts showed them new and exciting rhythms from all corners of the world. The record’s first example of this is ‘Venezuela’, a track directly inspired by the jazz funk from the great Caribbean nation.

Other key musical exploration on the record can be attributed to the late composer Francis Lai. On ‘Cinq Pour L'aventure’ - an almost 15 minute epic monster showcasing the band’s love for 70's French movies soundtracks. “L’aventure c’est l’aventure”, was a movie by one of the most famous French directors Claude Lelouch The single from the soundtrack was sung by French music superstar Johnny Halliday.

Guests are scattered very tastefully across the album, on the only cover version of the record, the Brazilian master Jorge Ben’s ‘Bebete Vãobora’, Sabrina Malheiros was invited to lend her lungs. The daughter of Azymuth’s Alex Malheiros helps join perfectly the dots from a band that are without a doubt Cotonete’s biggest influence. Brazilian jazz funk, now with an added French touch.

On ‘Day in Day Out’ a powerful performance is given from Leron Thomas on vocals and trumpet. Perhaps also known for his role as the musical director for Iggy Pop and touring member of his band. This track is an already tried and tested dance floor filler, emphasizing just how tight the band really can play - the track even found its way into BBC Music’s Craig Charles’ ‘Track Of The Year’ selection.

No record so soulful would be complete without a trip to the UK. Omar, London’s Godfather of New Soul pops in. Having recorded with artists like; Courtney Pine, Level 42 & Erykah Badu, in his distinctive smooth style, he blesses the track ‘What Did Run You For?’ The final vocal visitor is Gystere Peskine, a Parisian based musical hero, who shows off his retro future funk feels on ‘O Ceu es Preto’ - which literally translates as ‘the sky is black’ - although given the hugely uplifting and almost Gospel Soul of this Russian/Brazilian singer, he
has us seeing things far brighter.

Cotonete have endeavored to build a worldwide rainbow warrior team of merry boys and girls. Fighting the brave fight to shine light towards the fact that music will always win…. "Victoire de la Musique" - a symphony of spring, songs of the new world, a "Victory Of Music”

The tracks on this latest Global Beats’ showcase album, produced by Mafia & Fluxy, have been chosen for their relevance and enduring ability to liven up any roots session. They’re timeless, but then we’re talking about profound message songs; vocal performances steeped in authenticity, and deep, heavy rhythms that effortlessly blur any distinctions between reggae’s old and new schools. The full force of such regal backdrops can be heard at its best in the dub mixes that accompany each track, making this album even more irresistible to selectors and serious collectors alike.

REISSUE

Like Sun Ra's Arkestra and John Coltrane are to jazz, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari are to reggae - the ultimate expression of roots music and Rastafarian ideology in reggae music, music functioning at a high level of spiritual consciousness combined with an equally avant-garde and forward-looking approach to sound. The group's stunning, unique and groundbreaking 1973 album 'Grounation', a mighty conceptual triplealbum (the first ever reggae triple!) is, similar to Marvin Gaye's 'What's Goin' On', a definitive allencompassing cultural statement of its time and place. A sprawling album of raw and unique cultural expression that combined Rastafari consciousness with deep spiritual jazz music - an absolute and essential classic of Reggae music. The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari group came into existence at the start of 1970s, the union of two artists (and groups) of equal repute - Count Ossie and his African Drums and saxophonist Cedric 'Im' Brooks' and his group, The Mystics. Both Ossie and Brooks were alumni from the great Studio One Records.

Reissue of the legendary album of Janko Nilovic , sampled by Dr Dre, Pop Smoke ... and more!
This album recorded in 1972 with around 40 musicians making up the cream of the studio orchestras of the time, remains a centerpiece of the composer's work.

Mess/age is the music of Kyoto-based friends Khan Brown and Ohhki.
 Formed in 2021, their unique sound was developed by chance with a circuit bent karaoke machine. Now combine that with logic beats, familiar breaks, Casio tones and their signature echo poetry, and you have songs that will be stuck in your head for a lifetime.

2024 repress

Incl. her in demand tune "Tomorrow" . Six-track anthology of South African singer Ntombi Ndaba, featuring 2 songs from 3 of her solo albums, Mina Ngiljaji (1988), Mama Nature (1989) and Why Me (1991).
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Ntombi Ndaba first rose to fame in 1985 with Ntombi & Survival, becoming one of the most popular singers of the bubblegum era. After setting up the independent label Anneko with her producer A.T. 'Rubber' Khoza in 1988, she went solo. Following Khoza's death in the early 1990s, Ndaba never recorded again.

Mastered by: Wouter Brandenberg

PPU split 7" single showcasing the nouveau funk nite people of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sexxy Dexx burst onto the scene in December 2014, igniting stages across New Orleans with their electrifying live performances. Renowned as one of the most captivating and hardworking DIY musicians in town, they've mesmerized audiences with their unparalleled talent. Their music is a thrilling fusion of post-disco, boogie, and electro, enriched by bold experimentation with synth, sampling, and effects. Their sound is not only seductive, paying homage to Prince's iconic Minneapolis sound, but also boldly progressive, reminiscent of the avant-pop excitement of George Clinton's Computer Games and the innovative spirit of Trevor Horn.

DELORES GALORE Dive into the electrifying artistry of Delores Galore! Based in New Orleans, she swiftly stamped her name in the music scene with her debut album in 2019. Drawing inspiration from chic, Robin S, and MBV, Delores Galore blends elements from Electronic, House, and Alternative R&B to create a unique sound that lures you to the dance floor with lush melodies and rhythms. Her EP 'New Growth' garnered overseas success with the UK label Acid Waxa, infusing the hard beats and rhythms of house and freestyle with juicy cascaded soundscapes of new wave and shoegaze.

10-piece UK afro-fusion outfit TC & The Groove Family are proud to share their new EP ‘We Have Each Other’. Releasing on Friday 7th June via Bridge The Gap, the project sees the band refine the sound debuted on their 2022 album ‘First Home’. Returning to work once again with producer Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, ONIPA), the project explores a darker sonic palette, channelling a deep appreciation of UK bass and electronic music alongside afro-jazz sounds and hip-hop sensibilities.

The record documents a time of change within the group - a new lineup, plus members living in different cities and pursuing various paths - whilst also reflecting the turbulent socio-political climate, and the major shifts and changes on the horizon for humanity. However, despite the heavy subject material, the band strike an optimistic, uplifting tone, with MC Franz Von channeling the music into a message encouraging listeners to look around and embrace
community, whatever that may look like. Bandleader Tim Cook shares:

“Our collective purpose is to craft music that empowers and energises individuals to embrace their true selves with pride, celebrating the unity and strength we radiate as one community. No one needs to be alone when they are striving for common humanity. No one should be lonely when we celebrate each other, drawn together by a sound that says it’s good to be me, it’s better to be us. As our MC, Franz Von says, music brings peace, love & energy”.

Opener and lead single ‘Stand Strong’ is a love letter to afrobeat, creating a contemporary twist with its Khruangbin-esque guitar lines and weaving horns, whilst ‘Here, Now’ takes the tempo down to an atmospheric haze of dubbed-out ambient effects, pierced by uplifting horn melodies. ‘Blessed’ sees the group welcome Nubiyan Twist’s Aziza Jaye for a dancehall-meets-North African-flavoured feature, subtly reimagining what Elephunk era Black Eyed Peas would
sound like today.

At the EP’s centre-point and emotional peak, title track ‘We Have Each Other’ showcases the band’s jazz fusion, Latin and dark electronic influences. The tracks growling, subbed-out bass tones return as a theme for ‘Wile Out’ - a UK hip-hop & jungle tinged collaboration with SANITY complete with virtuosic, tight-knit grooves, furious horn lines and a whirlwind of immersive turntablism.

Originally formed in Leeds, TC & The Groove Family’s sound reflects the diverse musical and cultural backgrounds at the core of the project, with songs exploring grooves and genres including afrobeat, broken beat, jungle, jazz and grime. Their music has drawn widespread acclaim, supported by tastemakers including Jamz Supernova and Craig Charles on BBC Radio 6, BBC Introducing West Yorkshire, Jazz FM, Rinse FM, Radio FIP and more. The group have performed at the likes of Glastonbury, We Out Here, Greenman and Boomtown, and will embark on a UK tour across May & June in support of the release of ‘We Have Each Other’.

The James Taylor Quartet proudly release their brand new single 'Hung Up On You', from their forthcoming studio album.

A slice of Medway style punky/new wave Rock'n'Roll, 'Hung Up On You' is a fast and furious rant about an obsessive unrequited love that refuses to die. Since covid James has been working again, writing and playing, for his original band from the 80's, The Prisoners and making albums of late with Billy Childish.

"The track (Hung Up On You) was left over from a writing session for my other band 'The Prisoners' and it was interesting to see how my JTQ guys, usually funk players, took to this approach. We had a lot of fun in the studio and I think you can hear that in the recording.' - James Taylor.

Glasgows mehrfach mit BRIT- und Ivor-Novello Awards ausgezeichnete Songwriting-Giganten Travis kehren mit der Ankündigung ihres zehnten Studioalbums "L.A. Times" zurück, das ab dem 12. Juli 2024 über BMG erhältlich ist. Produziert von Tony Hoffer (Air, Beck, Phoenix), wurde "L.A. Times" von Fran Healy in seinem Studio am Rande von Skid Row, Los Angeles, geschrieben, der Stadt, die er in den letzten zehn Jahren sein Zuhause genannt hat. Er beschreibt "L.A. Times" als Travis' "persönlichstes Album seit 'The Man Who".

Far Out Recordings re-release the seminal debut album from Azymuth. Having never seen a vinyl release outside of Brazil, Far Out have given 'Azimuth' the LP gatefold heavyweight vinyl treatment. The album contains some of the band's most incendiary tracks and is quite simply a milestone album in Brazilian music.

Azymuth - Jose Roberto Bertrami, Ivan Conti, and Alex Malheiros & Ariovaldo - formed in the late 60s just as Os Mutantes released their debut record. Whilst Mutantes were honing a psychedelic 'Amazonian' version of western pop music, Azymuth were creating a futuristic, electric interpretation of US Jazz - also driven by the same rootsy Brazilian 'swing' that Mutantes had harnessed.

The original line up of Azymuth consisted of José Roberto Bertrami on keyboards and synths, Alex Malheiros on bass, Ivan Conti (aka Mamão) on drums and timbalas, plus Ariovaldo Contesini on percussion. Bertrami was the drive behind Azymuth's sound - a control freak and musical genius obsessed with the latest technology who wanted to use it to push the boundaries of music in a way that no one else in Brazil had done. His use of keyboards has drawn comparisons between Azymuth's work and Herbie Hancock's early 70s output, yet with it's Brazilian swing Azymuth's electric jazz sound is unmistakeably their own. Conti is an impulsive and an incredibly energetic drummer, and the real hardcore Carioca of the trio. Alex Malheiros, who learned his trade playing with the master of Brazilian swing, Ed Lincoln. Alex is respected in Brazil as one of the original groove masters.

Bertrami rose to fame as an arranger in the mid-60s and by the late 60s he was arranging for the queen of Brazilian music, Elis Regina. This pushed him into the major league and by the early 1970s he was arranging for the burgeoning TV novella scene. When he was not working, Bertrami made trips to New York to buy the latest keyboards and synths, ensuring he had the most up to date range of keyboards in Brazil. His work in TV Novellas meant Bertrami knew most of the A&R people in the Brazilian music industry, yet when he shipped the demos that became the core of this album round to them in 1973, they didn't share his vision - one label even going as far as to say that the music was 'wrong'.

Released in summer 1975, the album was a minor commercial success selling 200,000 copies. Opening track 'Linha do Horizonte' - a sublime piece of melancholic electronic saudade where deep cinematic synths melt into gently strummed acoustic jazz guitar - was chosen for a TV Novella and went on to sell half a million, propelling Azymuth onto the Brazilian music scene.

The rest of the album doesn't disappoint - track 2, 'Melô dos dois bicudos', sees Azymuth plugging them into the Brazilian national grid for a slice of electrified psyched out samba funk with crashing military drums, shrieking sirens and psych synths. Track 3 'Brazil' is a lolloping bass led groover with Bertrami's melody giving the track a charming, innocent naivety, and track 5 'Caça A Raposa' is a boogie jazz funk groover with Bertrami adding a Flora Purim style vocal melody.

Azymuth went on to become one of the best-selling jazz artists of the 80s with their future albums for Milestones, unquestionably the biggest jazz label of that decade. 'Azimuth' is the album that kickstarted it all for them, the record that was the blue print and definition of their 'samba doido / crazy samba' sound.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the seminal debut album, 'Azimuth', and in homage to the late Jose Roberto Bertrami, the band will be touring the album in Europe. (Tour dates and venues on Page 1)